Contents

Overview

The S.S. St. Flower is a cruise ship whose passengers are Pokémon Coordinators who qualify for entry into the Hoenn Grand Festival by successfully collecting five Ribbons from the HoennPokémon Contests. It carries contestants to the site of the competition and allows them to invite their friends to come along. The ship is large and wide, and offers an array of amenities. May described it by saying it is "like an entire city has been crammed onto one ocean liner".

Among the onboard facilities are a restaurant, a cafeteria, a shopping gallery, a game room containing bowling lanes and snooker tables, and a movie theater. Additionally, the ship has its own Pokémon Center, complete with a playroom specially made for Pokémon, which provides a space for Pokémon to exercise and play as much as it offers the healing and resting services of a regular Pokémon Center. The ship also has a room protected by security guards, where the Ribbon Cup, the prize given to the contestant who emerges victorious at the Grand Festival, is displayed.

History

Inside the S.S. St. Flower

May and her friends embarked the S.S. St. Flower in The Ribbon Cup Caper and made their first stop at the ship's Pokémon Center. After leaving her Pokémon under the care of Nurse Joy, May decided to go check the Ribbon Cup, which she hoped to win. However, her Munchlax fled the Pokémon Center looking for food and came running towards the room where the Cup was being displayed. In the process, it bumped into the case where the Cup was kept and broke the prized trophy.

When Raoul Contesta appeared to inspect the damage, May told him about the accident and apologized. Mr. Contesta believed her, accepting her apology and saying that no Coordinator who worked hard to secure entry into the Grand Festival would purposely break the Ribbon Cup. He thoroughly examined the Cup and concluded that the one on display was actually a phony trophy. He explained that an original Ribbon Cup would have never broken so easily and added that a real one contains the official seal of the Contest Committee in its interior.

Upon finding a card left by Brodie, the group and Mr. Contesta decided to meet with Officer Jenny and explain the situation to her. When Mr. Contesta revealed that he would have to cancel the Hoenn Grand Festival due to the theft of the Ribbon Cup, Officer Jenny informed him that Brodie could still be on board. Acknowledging that it would be hard to find Brodie considering his reputation as "the man of a thousand faces", Officer Jenny devised a strategy to lure him and put the plan into action. She used a can of gold spray paint to change a Poké Ball's appearance and had Ash, May, Max, and Brock walk around the ship talking about a valuable golden Poké Ball to catch Brodie's attention.

After hearing about a golden Poké Ball that would be given as second prize in the Grand Festival, Brodie disguised himself as the ship's captain in order to steal the item. He managed to deceive Officer Jenny and the others and run away with the gold-painted Poké Ball, not knowing that a transmitter had been hidden inside it. After pursuing Brodie for a while, the group and Officer Jenny went to the deck fearing he would escape using a jet pack just as he had done when retreating from the Weather Institute. Officer Jenny went searching for him, only to find Brodie disguised as herself. The group was initially confused, but Brock managed to differentiate the two. After that, Brodie gave up, throwing the Ribbon Cup to Officer Jenny prior to escaping.

Before Officer Jenny could catch the Cup, though, Team Rocket grabbed it. Officer Jenny then sent out her Growlithe and, with help from Ash and his Pikachu, managed to retrieve the Ribbon Cup and take it safely to Mr. Contesta, who said the Grand Festival would go on as planned. Having helped to bring the Ribbon Cup back to safety, May and her friends arrived in Slateport City.